Occupied Nation

I have a confession to make. Until I was an adult – as in, until a few years ago – I never completely read the Declaration of Independence.

Oh sure, I was familiar with the basics. I knew what it said … sort of. But somehow I just never got around to reading it.

This isn't surprising. I am, after all, a public skool gradjuate. And public schools, as everyone knows, hardly go around emphasizing such things.

But now that I'm a homeschooling mom, I was darned if my kids were going to be as ignorant as I was. Our children have grown up knowing America is unique due to its God-given freedoms. But now that our girls are teens, it was time to launch them into a serious study of the founding documents so they can understand just what those documents mean – and what they cost.

About this time a gentleman named Bruce Gordon approached me about advertising his self-published book on my blog. We told him we would have to review it first. When the book arrived, I was astounded at its clear and thorough coverage of the roots of our country's foundation, as well as its excellent study aids. It was the civics guide I was looking for.

So our girls have embarked on a comprehensive study, starting with the Declaration of Independence. They are memorizing key portions so that they always have the wording at their fingertips. Unlike me, I don't want them growing up ignorant about the importance of this document.

And the words therein are almost as beautiful and magnificent as the words in the Bible.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. …

Doesn't this just send chills down your spine?

Over the past two months, we have analyzed the Declaration line by line, word by word. The power and majesty of its language ring as clear and strong today as it did 235 years ago.

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And because of this – that the Declaration is still applicable today – it is held in contempt and roundly despised by those in power, because our government officials know damned good and well they have equaled or even exceeded the atrocities of George III.

This explains, of course, why I was never taught the founding documents as a student. Public schools are agents of the United States government. And that government is no longer recognizable as the limited entity it was meant to be.

It was John Edwards who once remarked that there are two Americas – the rich and the poor. He's partially wrong. There are indeed two Americas, but not in the way he meant. I believe we have the People of America, and we have the Government of America; and these are two completely separate entities.

The People of America are you, me and every other hardworking citizen who strives for the American dream in whatever manner we can. In this respect we benefit from an extremely limited government.

But we don't have it. That's because the Government of America is only interested in growing itself at the expense of the People.

Thomas Sowell wrote, "Those three words ["We the People"] were a slap in the face to those who thought themselves entitled to rule and who regarded the people as if they were simply human livestock, destined to be herded and shepherded by their betters. Indeed, to this very day, elites who think that way – and that includes many among the intelligentsia, as well as political messiahs – find the Constitution of the United States a real pain because it stands in the way of their imposing their will and their presumptions on the rest of us." [emphasis added]

When Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says with a straight face that taxes on small businesses must increase so the administration does not have to "shrink the overall size of government programs," he gives clear and compelling proof that the Government of America is a hostile opponent to the People.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. …

It should be "self-evident" to everyone except morons that the Government of America is NOT interested in any way, shape, or form in benefiting the People of America. (That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. …)

The People of America have been invaded by the Government of America. The Government continually erects "a multitude of New Offices." It constantly sends "hither swarms of Officers to harass our people." And it eats "out our substance" in the form of draconian food laws (SB 510) and attacking innocent farmers (raw milk). And don't even get me started on "imposing Taxes on us without our Consent."

When one nation takes over another, that second nation is considered "occupied." That's currently the situation of We the People. We are occupied by the Government of America. An efficient parasite weakens and sucks blood from its host, but doesn't quite kill it. The Government of America has become a parasite on the body of the People of America.

And so this is why a thoughtful study of our founding documents is actively discouraged in government schools. Studying these documents puts students in opposition with the occupying force. The Declaration is considered inflammatory because students might recognize that the whole purpose of it was to put limitations on the Government, not to feed the beast.

Yet gullible parents continue to send their children into the lair of the beast. After all, "all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."

As we enjoy barbecues and fireworks on this Independence Day, let us ask ourselves whether we remain worthy of the gift of freedom our founders gave us. We will never regain our once-great status as a nation until Occupied America is freed. To that end we must pledge "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."